Kitchen Director: Lead, Menu & Quality at Health-Forward Café

Wp-New-Modern-General; Winter Park (FL); On-site; USD 58,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Full-time leadership

401K benefits

Influence menu development

Ownership partnership

Growth opportunity

Collaborative environment

Job summary

New General Café & Coffee Bar in Winter Park, FL seeks a Chef / Kitchen Director to own the kitchen, lead daily operations, and drive menu development with ownership collaboration. The role demands hands-on leadership, culinary excellence, and a commitment to health-forward, from-scratch cooking.

You will manage recipe creation, food cost, inventory, training, and ensure top-quality plating and service while nurturing a positive kitchen culture and consistent guest experiences.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional kitchen leadership experience.
• Experience as a Chef, Sous Chef, Kitchen Manager, or similar leadership role.
• Strong line cooking and prep experience in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven ability to lead, train, and hold a kitchen team accountable.
• Experience with menu development and recipe creation.
• Strong understanding of food cost, inventory, ordering, and portion control.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Ability to stay calm, focused, and solution-oriented during busy service.
• Strong knowledge of food safety and sanitation.
• Manager Food Safety Certification required or ability to obtain.

Responsibilities

• Lead the culinary direction and day-to-day kitchen operation at New General.
• Collaborate directly with ownership on menu development, seasonal offerings, recipe creation, and menu evolution.
• Develop dishes that reflect New General's health-forward philosophy while remaining approachable, delicious, and commercially viable.
• Create and maintain recipes, prep procedures, portion specifications, and plating standards.
• Test and refine new menu items and lead the rollout and training of new dishes.
• Stay current with culinary trends, ingredients, and techniques that align with the New General brand.
• Own the overall performance of the kitchen during daily service.
• Ensure the kitchen is properly staffed, prepped, organized, and ready for service.
• Make ticket times a priority and proactively identify and resolve bottlenecks.
• Maintain consistency in food quality, portioning, presentation, temperature, and execution.
• Taste and inspect food throughout the day and hold the team accountable to established standards.
• Jump in wherever needed during busy service and lead by example.
• Recruit, train, coach, and develop kitchen team members.
• Establish clear expectations around performance, quality, cleanliness, and accountability.
• Build a positive, respectful, professional kitchen culture.
• Conduct ongoing training to ensure recipes, techniques, portions, and standards are consistently executed.
• Address performance issues directly and constructively.
• Partner effectively with FOH leadership to create a seamless guest experience.
• Take ownership of food cost and kitchen profitability.
• Manage ordering, inventory, pars, product utilization, and waste.
• Maintain accurate recipe costing and portion control.
• Work with vendors to maintain quality, consistency, and competitive pricing.
• Monitor food usage and identify opportunities to reduce waste without compromising quality.
• Ensure proper receiving, storage, labeling, rotation, and FIFO procedures.
• Develop and maintain prep lists, production schedules, checklists, and BOH SOPs.
• Establish efficient systems that support consistency and scalability.
• Maintain high standards for kitchen organization, cleanliness, and sanitation.
• Ensure compliance with all food safety requirements and maintain appropriate certifications.
• Monitor equipment and communicate maintenance or repair needs promptly.

Skills

Kitchen leadership

Menu development

Food cost control

Inventory management

Team leadership

Food safety

Calm under pressure

Job description

New General Café & Coffee Bar in Winter Park, FL seeks a Chef / Kitchen Director to own the kitchen, lead daily operations, and drive menu development with ownership collaboration. The role demands hands-on leadership, culinary excellence, and a commitment to health-forward, from-scratch cooking.

You will manage recipe creation, food cost, inventory, training, and ensure top-quality plating and service while nurturing a positive kitchen culture and consistent guest experiences.